Airbus's planned first A321XLR delivery to Wizz Air has been postponed because the aircraft requires additional tests. The European airframer had made preparations for a handover of the aircraft from its German assembly line to the low-cost carrier in Hamburg on 10 April. "Further tests are needed following the initial ground tests," Airbus says. "These further ground tests will take a few more days to complete," the manufacturer adds, noting: "Our tests are rigorous and there is nothing unusual about this process." Wizz Air is scheduled to become the third A321XLR operator after Iberia and Aer Lingus, and the first to receive the aircraft with Pratt & Whitney PW1100G engines. The two IAG carriers opted for CFM International Leap-1A powerplants. Launch operator Iberia began scheduled passenger flights with the A321XLR in November 2024 and today has three of the type, fleets data shows. Aer Lingus took delivery of two A321XLRs in December. The PW1100G-powered variant was certificated in February. Wizz Air has 299 A321neos on order, including 47 A321XLRs, the data shows. Iberia meanwhile says that it will begin flights with A321XLRs to Washington DC on 12 April, its second transatlantic destination for the type after Boston.

Frontier Airlines has reduced its second-quarter capacity, withdrawn full-year guidance and warned of a first-quarter loss, citing an “uncertain” and “weakened demand environment”. The US carrier’s parent company, Frontier Group, says in a 10 April filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that revenue growth in the first quarter is anticipated to be lower than expected due to weaker demand in March. In response to a “weakened demand environment”, Frontier has cut scheduled capacity in the second quarter by a “low single digit” amount, compared with the same period last year. The Denver-based airline says it will “closely monitor the demand environment and make any further adjustments to capacity and related costs, as appropriate”. Frontier expects to report a net loss in the first quarter, which it says will result in a loss per share of between 20 cents and 24 cents. It adds that it is unable to reaffirm full-year guidance for 2025 “due to the uncertain environment”, having previously forecast adjusted earnings per share for 2025 of “at least” $1. This follows an announcement from Delta Air Lines earlier this month that it does not expect to raise capacity in the second quarter because of “broad economic uncertainty around global trade”. The US major said that growth had “largely stalled”, and did not provide any updated guidance for the full year. The US government has announced that it will bring in a range of steep tariffs on imported goods from other countries. The changing nature of those tariffs and the planned introduction of countermeasures by other countries have created uncertainty in global markets. Frontier will release its first-quarter financial results on 1 May.

Neste has begun producing sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) at its refinery in Rotterdam in the Netherlands, as part of its plan to significantly expand SAF supply in Europe. The Finland-based renewable fuels specialist has modified its Rotterdam facility to produce up to 500,000 tonnes of SAF each year, which it says will increase its global SAF production capability to 1.5 million tonnes annually. Neste aims to produce 2.7 million tonnes of SAF and renewable diesel each year at the Rotterdam refinery from 2027. It envisages that its total annual SAF production capability by this point will be 2.2 million tonnes. The company also has refineries in Singapore and in Porvoo, Finland. "Our SAF production capability, now also in Rotterdam, enables us to significantly contribute to the implementation of the ReFuelEU Aviation Regulation and similar SAF mandates," states Neste chief executive Heikki Malinen. "Policies like these are crucial to ramping up SAF production and usage, and we need to keep our ambitions and targets high."